The explanation is simple. You have THX certified audio out of the analog audio ports (Line Out 2.1) and the optical SPDIF (7.1 digital audio out to AV receiver). This is not related to the 5450 MXM card.

On the other hand, the 5450 MXM card enables audio over the HDMI output. You get HD audio bitstreaming as well as LPCM to either connect to a compatible AV receiver or directly to the TV.

Since I have a Studio Hybrid with a BR drive (which is nearly useless), anyone think of any reason other than player software which would prevent me from swapping the unused BR drive out of the SH into the zino?

Actually, my 40" test monitor only supports 1080i or 720p and I tried both. However, progressive resolutions and content are actually easier on the GPU than interlaced. Therefore, I would not expect 1080p to be a problem based upon what I am seeing right now.

Regards.Java

There are 10 types of people in the world, those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Hi guys new to the forum
I am interested in the dell zino hd, i got myself the 400 model just a few days ago, but I think its a lemon, it keeps bsod every hour! I left it on over night, and check the mini dump files. So I know it crashed every hour... without doing anything!

I will just return that and wait for reviews of the 410.

Java Jack, mind posting full spec of your test machine?
And mind doing some stress testing and long haul testing like leaving it on over night to see how it handles stress and load?

Since I have a Studio Hybrid with a BR drive (which is nearly useless), anyone think of any reason other than player software which would prevent me from swapping the unused BR drive out of the SH into the zino?

Form factor of the BR drive will have to match the form factor (and connections) for the DVD drive that comes with the Zino 410.

What are you going to use this for? If use is as a HTPC then no. You have the BD drive but without the 5450 video card you will will not be able to use the HD audio on a BR disc. IMHO 6GB is way to much memory for a HTPC. 4GB is plenty and 3 GB should be optimal. Until some benckmark tests are in I have concerns about the quad core being fast enough. As a HTPC most everything is still pretty much single threaded. I would want the extra speed from the X2 CPU. The only reason I could see for the quad core would be transcoding but then do you really want to do a lot of transcoding with this slow CPU. Just my thoughts.

What are you going to use this for? If use is as a HTPC then no. You have the BD drive but without the 5450 video card you will will not be able to use the HD audio on a BR disc. IMHO 6GB is way to much memory for a HTPC. 4GB is plenty and 3 GB should be optimal. Until some benckmark tests are in I have concerns about the quad core being fast enough. As a HTPC most everything is still pretty much single threaded. I would want the extra speed from the X2 CPU. The only reason I could see for the quad core would be transcoding but then do you really want to do a lot of transcoding with this slow CPU. Just my thoughts.

not me.

that was someone else's config.

i go the $499 version which has the dual core, 4gb ram, 5450 and dvd drive.

I'll prolly swap my BR drive from my studio hybrid if it fits, or just get a regular BR drive to throw into one of my external cases hooked up to a storage server and rip there (which would actually be more practical based on where the computers are located).

Java Jack,
Can you confirm if your Zino 410 has a built in IR sensor for use with the Dell Media Remote or any other programmable remote such as a Harmony? It says in the setup guide that it is optional.

Also, does the unit have bluetooth? I wanted to use the AirMouse app on my iphone to control the cursor. Thanks.

i go the $499 version which has the dual core, 4gb ram, 5450 and dvd drive.

I'll prolly swap my BR drive from my studio hybrid if it fits, or just get a regular BR drive to throw into one of my external cases hooked up to a storage server and rip there (which would actually be more practical based on where the computers are located).

Hey R1Budha, how is the machine (I assume its the 410?)?
Any heat issue or bsod so far? Do you happen to know if the 5450 is able to do games like Civ 5?

Java Jack,
Can you confirm if your Zino 410 has a built in IR sensor for use with the Dell Media Remote or any other programmable remote such as a Harmony? It says in the setup guide that it is optional.

Also, does the unit have bluetooth? I wanted to use the AirMouse app on my iphone to control the cursor. Thanks.

I can't wait to get my hands on one of these.

Yes the unit I have does have the Ir. I am trying to confirm if this is actually an option or if it is there by default. From examining the inside, I do see it could be an optional thing as it bolts to the front and then cables down to the motherboard. However, it would make more sense to me to just have it there by default.

It is using standard RC6 commands so I would expect the Harmony to work with it just fine as those should support the RC6 command set. While I did not try the Harmony remote with it, I did try another RC6 remote I had laying around and it worked fine.

Regards.Java

There are 10 types of people in the world, those that understand binary, and those that don't.

hey r1budha, how is the machine (i assume its the 410?)?
Any heat issue or bsod so far? Do you happen to know if the 5450 is able to do games like civ 5?

Quote:

preliminary ship date: 10/19/2010

No idea yet.

For what it's worth, i left some feedback on the Direct2Dell blog under the ZinoHD release notes, and have received a couple of responses.
If others would like to see the following configuration available (possibly different HD sizes), you may wish to do the same.
AMD Athlon II X2 P340
Windows 7 HP (or higher)
NO MONITOR
3 or 4GB DDR3 RAM
hard drive of any size
ATI HD5450 Mobility
Blu-Ray Disc (BD) Combo Drive

What is your system set-up? And it worked well playing Hulu and Netflix on your 40" LCD?

I will be providing full specs, etc. in the blog shortly. However, the unit I have has a Turion II P520 and the RS880M chipset.

I don't see the P520 listed as an option on the Dell site so I have inquiries into them to get more info on what I have vs. what is available.

It seems to be streaming Hulu and other flash content fine. It is also streaming Silverlight content fine.

I am one of the few that does not have a Netflix account so I can't comment on how well netflix works.

I really don't want to set up a trial account for testing and then have to go back and cancel it at a later date. Based upon what I am seeing with other content sources, I expect it will handle Netflix just fine.

Once I get the blog through the approval process, I will get it posted and then update folks here.

Regards.Java

There are 10 types of people in the world, those that understand binary, and those that don't.

Do you know off hand how the Turian II you have compares to the Athlon II X2 P340 (2.2GHz/1MB cache)? Also, how much memory do you have installed? And am I correct to say you do not have a discrete graphics card, but are instead utilizing the integrated HD4250?

Do you know off hand how the Turian II you have compares to the Athlon II X2 P340 (2.2GHz/1MB cache)? Also, how much memory do you have installed? And am I correct to say you do not have a discrete graphics card, but are instead utilizing the integrated HD4250?

The Turion II is our mobile processor core at 2.3Ghz with 1MB L2 cache. I would expect that it would be similar in terms of performance of the Athlon II though I don't know if anyone has done a side/side comparison.